Britain's most prolific burglar, known as the “guv'nor” by the gang, has suffered a stroke in prison, is almost deaf and has lost most of his vision in one eye. He is unsteady on his feet after being treated for septicaemia.

His lawyer James Scobie QC told Woolwich crown court : “It may still be that he does not have many months to live.”

Judge Christopher Kinch agreed to adjourn his case and the court will hear an update on Wednesday.

Reader and his gang are likely to spend a maximum of just four years in jail for one of Britain's biggest burglaries .

Organised: Smashed safe deposit boxes are pictured in the underground vault of the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company (Image: Getty)

(Image: Getty)

The offence has maximum sentence of 10 years and with their early guilty pleas, the ringleaders will receive a minimum discount of 20%.

It means they can only get at most eight years of which they could serve half.

Prosecutor Philip Evans QC asked the judge to consider sentences beyond those in the guidelines.

He said: "It is clear that this was a plan of the utmost sophistication, that was many years in the planning.”

Grey-haired Kenny Collins, 75, Daniel Jones, 61, and Terry Perkins, 67, sat in silence as they heard the case against them read out for the first time, to a packed public gallery and four returning jurors.

William Lincoln (Image: Metropolitan Police/PA)

Hugh Doyle (Image: Metropolitan Police/PA)

Daniel Jones (Image: Getty)

Carl Wood (Image: Metropolitan Police/PA)

Terry Perkins (Image: Getty)

William Lincoln, 60, who suffers from bladder problems and has had a double hip replacement, gingerly left the dock on occasion to go the toilet. He visibly winced as he slowly got to his feet when asked to stand by the court clerk.

Peter Rowlands, representing Terry Perkins, said: “This was a 1980s team taking on 21st Century law enforcement.”

Mr Rowlands said the fugitive gang member known as “Basil” was the leading member of the gang.

He said: “Basil had the key to the building. He was the man who was able to educate the other members as to the workings of Hatton Garden. Where the alarms were, what the difficulties were, how to go about it.”

Audacious: The Daily Mirror front page on April 11

The £14m Hatton Garden raid saw the gang steal gold and cash from London’s jewellery quarter at the centre of the UK diamond trade last Easter.

Reader pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary last September alongside Perkins, Collins, and Jones.

Carl Wood, 59, and Lincoln, 60, were convicted of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property, after a trial.

Hugh Doyle, 49, was found guilty of concealing, converting or transferring criminal property between January 1 and May 19 last year.

Police have offered a £20,000 reward to trace Basil, who is still on the run, along with £10m in gems, gold and cash stolen from 73 of the 996 boxes ransacked in the raid.

The hearing will last three days with sentencing due to take place on Wednesday.